nkycvb strategic analysis

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau

Analysis

2012

Amanda Batta, Tiffany Hopkins, Kelly Parker, and Nicole Stadtlander Dr. Stephanie Hughes’ Business Policy Class – Fall 2012

12/5/2012

NKYCVB-Batta, Hopkins, Parker, and Stadtlander 2|Page

Table of Contents

Synopsis ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Overview of NKYCVB ................................................................................................................................................. 5

Environmental Trends Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 5

Five Forces Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 14

Competitive Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 19

Strategic Group Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 24

Internal Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 27

Resource and Capability Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 27

Value Chain and Outsourcing Analysis .................................................................................................................. 30

Financial Ratio Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 31

Balanced Scorecard Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 32

Competitive Strength Assessment ............................................................................................................................... 34

Business (and Corporate Level) Strategies Assessment .............................................................................................. 40

Extent and Type of Firm’s International Strategy ....................................................................................................... 42

Composition of Board Members ................................................................................................................................. 44

Structure of the Firm .................................................................................................................................................... 45

Issue Identification ...................................................................................................................................................... 46

Proposed Strategies and Implementation Schedule ..................................................................................................... 47

Incentives ................................................................................................................................................................ 47

Social Media............................................................................................................................................................ 50

Seminar ................................................................................................................................................................... 52

Partnership .............................................................................................................................................................. 54

Background and Information .............................................................................................................................. 54

Benefits to NKYCVB ......................................................................................................................................... 58

Competition ........................................................................................................................................................ 59

Program Name/Questions ............................................................................................................................................ 63

NKY’s Happenin’ ................................................................................................................................................... 63

Proposed Implementation Schedule............................................................................................................................. 65

Proposed Means of Evaluation of Strategies ............................................................................................................... 68

Timeline .................................................................................................................................................................. 68

Ensuring Achievements Through Controls ............................................................................................................. 69

Additional Notes .......................................................................................................................................................... 71

Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................................. 72


Synopsis

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is currently in the process of

creating an ambassador program that will help local businesses, employees, and citizens become

more informed about the Northern Kentucky area in addition to being aware of what events and

attractions a visitor or tourist might want to attend while visiting the area. The bureau has asked

for help with a Marketing Plan, a Program Name, and the first tier (of a three tiered test) to be

created. This detailed analysis includes strategies to solve these problems along with other key

information that can be used to benefit and inform NKYCVB of their competitors and industry

as a whole.

The first section of this report focuses on the internal and external factors that affect the

NKYCVB. From the environmental trends to key competitors as well as an assessment of

NKYCVB from an internal perspective, the main focus is the breakdown of the industry in every

aspect in addition to understanding how competitors work and where NKYCVB stands among

their competitors. This is in detail more in the first 39 pages of this analysis report.

The second section is focused on the NKYCV Commission, along with International

Business and the structure of the firm. These are important topics that need to be analyzed before

creating strategies due to getting a better understanding of how NKYCVB functions and where it

stands on a global perspective.

Strategies are then proposed. The first strategy that is proposed is the use of incentives

with the ambassador program being created by the NKYCVB. These incentives range from lapel

pins for completion of the program from the participants perspective along with the companies of

these students also getting recognized for promoting the program and informing participants of

the benefits and rewards that they can receive. A second strategy is the increase of monitoring


social media sites. Looking at all social media platform, the NKYCVB is lacking. Twitter is

outshining Facebook which is outshining Pinterest which is more existent than LinkedIn. With

an increase of posts, NKYCVB can bring more awareness to themselves along with the

upcoming ambassador program. A third strategy is to create a seminar that allows business

owners, managers, employees, and local citizens to become informed on the program in hopes

that these attendees will then participate and be the first to take the test once it is launched. A

forth and final strategy is to partner with a great, new mobile company, called Text and the City

to help promote Northern Kentucky through a mobile device. Think of this as the yellow pages.

It will help navigate visitors to local ‘hotspots’ and attractions if no one is around to help them.

With those strategies in place, a name to be proposed for the program is discussed.

Tourists want to know what is happening in the Northern Kentucky area and for that reason, the

name NKY’s Happenin’ was created. This name has a modern twist that will be appealing to all

target markets that will be attracted to taking the test in addition to tourists being aware that the

program exists. Along with the name of the program, a list of questions was created for the first

tier of the program to help show NKYCVB the format or outline that should be used when

created the second and third tier.

This report finishes up with discussing a timeline of when these strategies need to take

place and the next steps that need to take place in order to get the maximum opportunity for

NKY’s Happenin’. Contact information is given at the end for any additional information or

help.

Our team is excited to help launch this great program to the Northern Kentucky area and

are honored to of had the privilege to work with the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors

Bureau with this topic over the past 16 weeks.


Overview of NKYCVB

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau (NKYCVB) is located in the

heart of Covington, Kentucky. The NKYCVB serves three Northern Kentucky counties: Boone,

Kenton and Campbell counties. The NKYCVB is the largest promoter of the three Northern

Kentucky counties and promotes the largest events in those areas.

The NKYCVB intends to create an ambassador program that will be offered to

employees who work in the hospitality industry (such as restaurants, hotels, bars, etc.)

throughout Northern Kentucky. This program will educate employees so they will be able to

interact with and inform tourists and visitors of events happening throughout Northern Kentucky

on any given date along with the best restaurants and local attractions to visit while in the area.

This program will include an exam testing employee’s knowledge on Northern Kentucky and its

attractions. It is a goal of the NKYCVB to make the test both entertaining and informative.

Our intention with the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor Bureau is to help with

the creation of the ambassador program being created in addition to generating incentives and a

marketing plan. A name for this program will also be produced and presented in this company’s

strategic analysis. NKYCVB will be able to launch a successful and worthy program that will

attract citizens as well as inform visitors.

Environmental Trends Analysis

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s (NKYCVB) main objective is

to positively impact the Northern Kentucky economy through conventions, meetings, and visitor

expenditures and ultimately create a high percentage of visitor return. In order to maintain the


company’s existing efforts to maximize visitors’ expectations and experiences in the Northern

Kentucky (NKY) area, NKYCVB can utilize multiple analyses to determine the external factors

that have a direct and/or indirect effect on their organization. One of these analyses includes the

PESTEL analysis that concentrates on the environmental trends in the NKY area. The PESTEL

analysis identifies the merits the company can leverage and any possible external risks they can

mitigate in order to uphold their business-level strategy. These forces are within the following

six segments: political, economic, sociocultural, technological, ecological and legal.

Political

From a political standpoint, there are some tax elements that alter a visitor’s decision to

visit this area. One particular advantage that has a direct effect on a visitor is the difference in

“bed tax rate” between NKY and Cincinnati hotels. NKY has an advantage over Cincinnati on

this element because NKY’s rate is distinctively lower than the hotels located in Cincinnati. The

lower rates benefit the visitors and ultimately the NKY area becomes more attractive and overall

creates revenue across the area. Local and state governments like to impose these kinds of hotel

taxes because they weigh heavy on primarily out-of-town guests, which eliminate the chance of

levying the tax. Thankfully, the NKY area already offers lower bed tax rates compared to the

surrounding competitors; however there is still the possibly those rates could increase

eliminating this advantage all together for the NKYCVB.

Unfortunately, there are other tax issues that can play a major part within the NKY area

that could create a loss. Companies that are successful and assist in bringing more visitors to the

area for conferences or meetings can face difficult decisions when presented with incentive

packages from other regional cities. For example, Omnicare was offered an $8 million dollar

incentive package by Ohio and Cincinnati, forcing them to move downtown. (Pilcher) This is a


major political tax conflict that does not help keep Omnicare’s business and conference

possibilities in NKY.

Another tax element that falls under the political aspect involves a tax credit for the film

industry. Film production companies have the choice between a sales tax refund incentive and

an income tax credit incentive up to 20% of approved expenditures. (Greater Cincinnati &

Northern Kentucky Film Commission) Unlike the incentives to draw companies out of the area,

these kinds of incentives help attract major revenue players. This incentive related to the film

industry also overlaps with the sociocultural segment of this analysis.

Economic

Economically, the NKY area has recently seen a large increase in growth development

and job opportunities. Business growth has shown almost a 2% increase since 2009. Although, it

is on the rise, it has not surpassed the economic position pre-recession. (Pilcher) Clearly the

growth within this area is a major benefit. This kind of rise within the economy can open more

doors to both potential visitors and the NKYCVB. This is a good indicator that the businesses

across the NKY will be profitable.

This rapid growth rate could continue to rise due to some of the future (proposed)

projects within the NKY area that include the following: Purple People Bridge, Brent Spence

Bridge, Walking Path, and CVG Airport Hubs. Some of these projects have the potential to

bring additional economic value to NKY and while others could create obstacles for visitors to

this area. These kinds of forces are good to identify so NKYCVB will have a better

understanding of what kind future economic status NKY has to work with.

Just recently there has been discussion of creating a hotel, retail and entertainment development

on the Purple People Bridge located in Newport. The idea of could create an economic boost for


this area. Additionally, this development could generate more job opportunities and

knowledgeable employees to demonstrate the best service to out-of-town guests. The bridge

connects two riverfronts in Cincinnati and Newport and with this new development of attractions

there would be an overall positive impact to the businesses in both cities.

On the other hand, just a few miles south down the river, there has been a major bridge

project in debate for years involving the Brent Spence Bridge. For years there has been

discussion to rebuilding the bridge because of years of deterioration due to the massive influx of

commuters. There have been thousands of state dollars spent on multiple studies, roadway

alternatives, and town meetings in determining the best execution plan. Even though the new

bridge is desperately needed in this area, considering it is the backbone of commerce and travel

in this region, it may pose a temporary halt in retail and entertainment profitability. If there are

not favorable roadway alternatives to the businesses along the Riverfront, those businesses will

suffer greatly and ultimately lose their appeal to any outside visitors.

Another smaller project is the past proposal of the Covington Riverfront Commons Trail.

This multi-use trail will be four miles in length and run from Covington to Bellevue. Although,

this may be more attractive to local residents, it does offer visitors an alternative route of

transportation to visit all the riverfront cities. Although this maybe a smaller development, it can

have just as a positive impact as larger developments.

Finally, the Northern Kentucky area is home of one of the best airports nationwide,

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The airport is just minutes away

from the riverfront cities in NKY and Cincinnati. Additionally, CVG is partnered with one of

the biggest airlines, Delta. However, just recently CVG has reduced their size to only one

available concourse; this creates the problem of lowering the flight availability. On the positive


side; however Delta, who has historically been known to have very expensive prices, has reduced

airfare from 5 to 60 percent.

Additional economic growth factors that support the area on the rise include the level of

employment and wage indicators. Although, the unemployment rate is only down slightly from

2010 to 2011 (1.5%), it does show growth. Another important factor that can be appealing to

local workforce is the average weekly wage. Compared to the rest of the state, in 2010, Northern

Kentucky had an average weekly wage of $788, which is nearly $50 more than the rest of the

workforce in Kentucky ($745). True, this maybe a small incentive for those looking for job

opportunities but still effective at that the same time. If the workforce knows they have above

average income, there is a good chance they are more willing to display the best customer

service to any kind of visitors to the area. However, just across the river, Ohio’s average weekly

wages are over $800. (Bureau of Labor Statistics) This poses the problem of attracting a potential

workforce from the Kentucky side.

Sociocultural

One major advantage the NKY area offers to local businesses are the large number of

colleges and universities located in the Tri State region. Some of these educational institutions

include the following: Northern Kentucky University, University of Cincinnati, Xavier

University, Cincinnati State Technical College, and Gateway Community College. These

institutions feed into the NKY area’s job opportunities. The benefit to having so many graduates

from these schools available to work in the NKY area, is the thorough knowledge they bring to

the table. The students that are about to graduate have the ability to market themselves to local

thriving businesses as a crucial element to their team because they have the knowledge of the

local area and most importantly are aware of the effects the local economy may have on their


company. NKY presents a local culture that concentrates on thriving in the education process,

which in turn makes the surrounding businesses viable. This sociocultural element of education

is indirectly attracting more businesses to the area as well as visitors.

As mentioned before, the film industry incentive also assists in bringing out the art

culture in this area. This industry presents an opportunity to visitors and especially students that

attend the Cincinnati School of Performing Arts. Those students have the chance to become a

key player when film productions come to the area. They are an intricate part of helping create

revenue across the board to the NKY area. There have been many movies filmed in this area

over the years; to name a couple Rain Main and Ides of March. The film industry creates large

revenue and NKYCVB can use this as a positive reinforcement to NKY by making the area

readily available to production teams.

Along with the film/media industry, the NKY area is also very prominent within the

music culture. Hundreds to thousands of musicians circle through the Tri State area that

generates revenue among the local businesses and creates a reason for visitors to come back to

the area. For the longest time, Riverbend Music Center was one of the only large music venues,

which is actually located in Ohio. However, in 2008, The Bank of Kentucky Center was opened

as a new venue that has the ability to hold a variety of events. Now the NKY area has a larger

music venue to take advantage of and to help create a larger percentage of visitors to return. The

Riverbend Music Center still generates a large profit for the city of Cincinnati and creates

competition for The Bank of Kentucky Center. Overall these cultural elements are what help

assist NKYCVB leverage their strong points throughout the NKY area.

Technological


Technology is constantly changing and it is one of NKYCVB core competencies to stay

up-to-date with any external technological developments. Just this past summer a recent startup

company, Text and the City, entered into the NKY market offering businesses and communities

an electronic connection via simple text messaging. This company is also teaming up with the

NKU College of Informatics for structured feedback and revamping. The idea of this

technological innovation is to alert businesses of any local news and to create a connection

among one another through “hyper-local markets.” (Henderson) This is also a great idea for

visitors that want to stay connected to the local business’ availability and offerings.

NKYCVB could use this technology to help market the businesses within the NKY area.

It is also a great way to promote the destination education program NKYCVB is promoting to all

local businesses/individuals that have any kind of contact with visitors. NKYCVB could also

sync up their event calendar as text messaging alerts to individuals. Text messaging and mobile

alerts have been on the rise in the technology industry and it would benefit NKYCVB to partner

up with companies like Text and the City. At the same time; however, even though this can be a

great way for businesses/individuals to stay connected, there needs to be structured policies in

place that will not allow this feature to become an annoyance to people. NKYCVB does not

want negative attention from visitors and/or businesses involving an overload of information.

Earlier this year the National Risk Management Research Laboratory held a workshop in

Cincinnati, educating small businesses on the advantages and funding resources the Small

Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer departments offer.

These programs allow small businesses to develop on their technological abilities and ultimately

become profitable. This kind of funding is available through a three phase process; however this

is the kind of technological developing that needs a strong presence in the NKY area. Through


the NKYCVB’s own technology resources i.e. website, they can use this to attract businesses and

outside of the state businesses to relocate to an area that is thriving in the technology industry.

Ultimately these are steps into creating jobs, expanding technology, and creating revenue, all

which can benefit visitors and businesses from outside this region.

Ecological

NKYCVB is an organization that is in the heart of downtown Covington, an area that

thankfully does not have major ecological factors locally. However, with that said, the NKY

area is indirectly affected by weather and climate occurrences all over the nation. Hurricane

Sandy is a prime example of how local businesses can have an indirect effect. Hurricane Sandy

shut down major airports near the East Coast and in the New England states, which temporarily

created a reduction of tourism to this area. Additionally, Hurricane Sandy’s greatest direct effect

to the NKY area was the increase of flooding. Flooding along the Ohio River is one of the major

ecological events that have the potential to bring a negative impact to businesses along the river.

When flooding occurs it creates soil erosion and land shifting. The Riverfront Common Trail is

a proposed project involving a multi-use trail connecting the river cities of NKY. Before this

trail can be incorporated along the river, studies must be conducted to evaluate this kind of land

erosion and shifting. The Brent Spence Bridge Project is also another example of using

environmental studies. Thousands of dollars have gone towards land studies and evaluations in

order make sure the different land masses will withstand the alternative routes the state(s) present

to local businesses and homeowners. These kinds of studies in this area are the most challenging

because of the high cost and the delays they create for potential businesses.

Overall ecological factors have the ability to not only affect visitors to the area but

businesses that are within the region as well. Unfortunately, weather is almost unpredictable and


unstoppable and NKYCVB will not be able to eliminate these negative forces when they occur.

Instead, NKYCVB can turn a negative into a positive by promoting assistance for disaster relief

for areas in the country that have been affected in a worst way, just as NKYCVB has currently

displayed on their website. This kind of positive attention allows outside communities and

governments know that the NKY businesses and citizens care about the well-being of America as

a whole. It also encourages other local businesses to do the same in the time of need.

Legal

One major difference that exists for NKY businesses lies within the smoking law(s)

between Kentucky and Ohio. The smoking laws have been addressed over the past several years

and certain exemptions have been made. In 2006, Ohio became 100% smoke-free in all public

places. (Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights) Between 2010 and 2012, the NKY counties

gradually became smoke-free in public places. However, in Kentucky some businesses are

granted exemptions, primarily drinking establishments. The exemptions include split ventilation

systems and/or “split-shift.”

These exemptions can be considered both advantages and disadvantages depending on

the individual’s preference. For the NKY area, having the availability to smokers is an

advantage because Ohio does not offer this option at any of hospitality businesses. Kentucky

stands out from the 36 states that are completely 100% smoke free. (Americans for Nonsmokers’

Rights) It can be debated however that allowing some businesses (mostly bars) to continue to

have smoking establishments can discourage potential customers/visitors. NKYCVB focuses on

individual visitors; however they have a larger section of trying to attract corporate events and

business groups that will bring more revenue. It is more likely that larger groups would go to an

area that is completely smoke free.


Five Forces Analysis

In order for NKYCVB to compete with the programs their competitors have available,

they will need to identify any and all threats. Threats may occur from any of the five forces:

Threat of Entry, Power of Suppliers, Power of Buyers, Threats of Substitutes, and Rivalry

Among Existing Competitors. The threats may come individually in staggered intervals or,

NKYCVB could face multiple threats at the same time once their ambassador program is

launched and gets publicity. The likelihood of competitors, close ones at that, increasing their

competition is strong and so the following will help analyze these five components to a more

detailed degree.

Threat of Entry

The entry barriers for convention and visitor bureaus are high for its industry.

Convention and visitors bureaus serve many counties within its region and try to have a

competitive advantage over other convention and visitors bureaus to draw visitors and companies

to their region instead. It is estimated that convention and visitor bureaus are in the mature phase

of its life cycle due to web-based technological change in conference and convention

arrangement, travel information and packaging, distribution, reservations and bookings, and

sales.

Of the many entry barriers that each convention and visitors bureaus face in today’s

marketplace, some of the more prominent ones are capital costs, organization (complex

operations are necessary for success), regulations (legal obstacles), and customer loyalty

(existing businesses have strong market advantage). Although each is important, perhaps the

customer loyalty aspect is the most substantial. It is the repeat client that sustains any business.


Each region, often serving three counties in each region, has its own Convention and

Visitors Bureau that try to make their locale more appealing than the other by offering various

incentives like more local events, appealing to a wider audience (for example high schools for

graduations), and financial incentives (a buy one/get one offer), and the ability to customize the

building to suit their clients’ needs.

Because there are often several convention centers within each region, in our case a very

close proximity, offering more specialized programs and events can be used to create obstacles

for the other centers. You now become “the competition” that everyone else tries to beat. The

threat of entry is high when new entrants into the field expect that the incumbents will not or

cannot retaliate; the customer switching costs are low; and capital requirements are low. It is at

this level where the incumbent must be willing to make hard financial decisions to retain their

customer base. Customers want more ‘bang’ for their buck and will go where they can get it.

Power of Suppliers

Suppliers have power when they are offering a product that is unique and differentiated

from the competition and when a company faces high or low switching costs. Suppliers know

they have the upper hand when competition among other suppliers is low. This gives companies

more of an incentive to choose a particular supplier (which means more loyalty to a supplier).

Suppliers to the NKYCVB include local restaurants, various stores, lodging (hotels), and

attractions. Many of the lesser known businesses tend to get overlooked when there are popular

businesses and attractions. These suppliers to NKYCVB are able to offer special promotions to

the guests, which encourages these guests to spend more time and money in their establishments.

It would behoove the NKYCVB to include the lesser known businesses in their itinerary of

attractions, thereby increasing customer satisfaction. Being able to offer the customer their


choice of attractions, large versus intimate, the NKYCVB can position themselves as the leader

in client satisfaction. And satisfaction equals revenue.

Power of Buyers

The NKYCVB is a large, well known industry that provides strong business to suppliers

and the surrounding businesses. Because they provide so much business for suppliers,

NKYCVB is able to ask for a lower rate than other companies receive. This is an incentive for

the suppliers since they want the continued business.

Since the NKYCVB is a large business, they have a strong bargaining power when

dealing with companies such as hotels and restaurants. Often times, suppliers will give buyers a

discount for partnering with the company due to the increased business from recommendations

to other customers. The down side to this is, of course, the smaller, lesser known business tend

to get pushed out. There is no way for these businesses to compete with the larger ones when it

comes to offering discounts or other incentives.

Many times these small businesses operate on a shoestring budget and cannot afford to

offer financial incentives. However, what they can offer is the enticement of great customer

service and the personal touch that sometimes gets lost when you deal with a larger supplier.

Again, NKYCVB must include these smaller businesses because it benefits the NKYCVB by

offering the client choice.

Threat of Substitute, Products or Services

The NKYCVB has several other competitors that offer similar but very distinct services.

Often these competitors can offer these services at a better fee with better service. One of the

NKYCVB’s competitors, Duke Convention Center, is located less than five miles away.

Because the Duke Convention Center is merely a river away, it reduces the meeting and


conference opportunities to the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau. However,

NKYCVB has as many if not more attractions and that can put the Duke Convention Center at a

disadvantage.

NKYCVB’s location is better than most. They are easily accessible with three major

interstate highways, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport nearby, and every major hotel

brand is represented. Logistically, it really is better to select the NKYCVB over the Duke

Convention Center simply because you would have less traffic congestion trying to get to the

facility. The bridges leading into Cincinnati are known for their overcrowding, whereas one can

simply take the Covington exit off the Interstate and avoid the Cincinnati bottleneck. Any

entrance into Cincinnati poses the problem of traffic jams. Covington is just easier to navigate in

to and out of.

Since the offerings of both convention centers are so similar, the very ONE thing that sets

the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau above the rest is easy access. And if

you can remove that impediment from potential clients, they will select you for their provider.

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

The NKYCVB considers their competitors to be: Columbus, Ohio; Dayton/Springfield,

Ohio; Lexington and Louisville, Indianapolis, Indiana; Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; St. Louis,

Missouri; Nashville and Charlotte Tennessee. Often these competitors are able to attract clients

from around the country with better customer service and better accommodations. With intense

rivalry among the competitors, price discounting, industry profitability, increase advertising and

improved service all become a main focus.

But here is what makes NKYCVB a sure winner: The NKYCVB guarantees a

“commitment to service by the entire hospitality community and declares that if a customer is


not completely satisfied with the service they receive, they will refund one day’s rental in the

NKU Convention Center.” When a facility can offer a guarantee like that, coupled with such a

beautiful city, amenities, and great customer service, why would anyone chose to go elsewhere?

NKYCVB wants your business and they are willing to go the extra mile to get it.

Yes, many corporations are choosing video conferencing in today’s business world. The

emphasis in some companies seems to be on completing just the task at hand. However,

NKYCVB isn’t just offering a place to hold your meetings. The NKYCVB is offering an

experience that will leave the customer with a sense of appreciation, satisfaction, and relaxation.

It can complement a business’ goal of appreciating their employees. And that appreciation

translates into better production which means increased revenue.

Reflection

By using the Five Forces, the NKYCVB is able to determine how to surpass their

competitors by offering a better product and better service. They can determine if an existing

competitor will introduce the same product at a better price or which competitors are getting a

bigger bang for their buck. In other words, which Convention and Visitor Bureau is

outperforming the NKYCVB. Also by using the five forces, they are able to negotiate a better

price with their suppliers. If the suppliers are unable to meet the bottom line of the NKYCVB,

NKYCVB will be able to negotiate and obtain a better deal and a better product with a different

supplier.


Competitive Analysis

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, also known as NKYCVB,

have a handful of competitors that they compete with, although among those there are two key

competitors that are worth analyzing; the Lexington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau as well as

the Charlotte Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Both of these competitors currently have what

NKYCVB is trying to create; a program that helps local citizens and employees in the hospitality

and food service industry gain knowledge about their designated cities in order to help tourists

when they have questions about the area and what attractions are best to visit based on their

personal interests. These cities ambassador programs, as they call them, seem to be a great

comparison to what the NKYCVB would like to create. More analysis into these cities’ current

programs will be looked into in a way that will help NKYCVB benefit and understand what key

things they can use from each cities programs in order to create a similar program that will

ultimately be better, or have a competitive advantage compared to their competitors. We will

first begin looking into Charlotte’s current ambassador program that is ‘fit for royalty’.

Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte and its resident county are named in honor of

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who had become queen consort of British King George III,

the year before the city's founding. Due to this nickname, the ambassador program created the

name, The Crown Ambassador (CA) Program. Developed for the hospitality and tourism

professional, this program provides information about Charlotte's history, attractions, and events

along with map orientation and ways to navigate the city. Designed for the front line employee,


competency is achieved through participation in a seminar, city tour and successful completion

of an exam. Additionally, Charlotte Crown Guides has partnered with Goodwill of the Southern

Piedmont to provide Crown Ambassador Certifications to students enrolled in the Goodwill

Hospitality Training classes. Since launching the Crown Ambassador Program in December

2009, over 200 hospitality and tourism professionals have participated from over 30 businesses

and organizations (Crown Ambassador Program). Additionally, the program has added the

Hospitality and Tourism program at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont whose

students now achieve the Crown Ambassador certification as a part of that program. The Crown

Ambassador Program was created by two women, Genie Hufham and Mary Schultz, who have

worked both collaboratively and individually in the local tourism industry to support and

promote Charlotte as a destination. This program has partnered with multiple Charlotte tourism

sites along with Charlotte’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Along with Charlotte’s

Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Goodwill, the Crown Ambassador Program also partners

with the Greater Charlotte Hospitality and Tourism Alliance as well as being a member of the

Charlotte Commerce (Crown Ambassador Program). With these partners and alliances, word of

mouth seems to be the way that this ambassador program is marketed to the public.

A few important notes to make about the ambassador program are the price, the time, and

the opportunity to take the program. At the top of the list is the price. The current price to

become a Crown Ambassador is $125 per person. On top of that large amount is the fact that this

price is non-refundable. If something comes up personally with you and you are unable to make

the session, you will be assigned to the next session that is scheduled instead of receiving your

money back. Second, is the timing of the event. It seems that the opportunity to take the class is

very limited to the public. From searching on the Crown Ambassador Program website,


charlottecrownguides.com, there are four opportunities a year to register for the six hour session

that includes a three hour lecture, followed by a three hour tour of the city. The lecture covers the

following topics: Customer care/Professionalism, statistics and history of the city, map

orientation and transportation options, attractions, venues, dining, shopping and nightlife, annual

events and Resources. Following the lecture, is the three hour city tour which includes the

following: Center City Charlotte’s Four Wards, a stop at the visitor info center, driving

directions, map orientation and transportation options, as well as Neighborhood attractions.

Following this six hour event, a competency test is to be taken to evaluate how well you took in

all the information that was given to you during the event. This seems like a lot, and it is for a

citizen to have to participate in.

Although this may seem like a great procedure, a better approach can come about from

the NKYCVB from looking at the analysis of the Crown Ambassador Program. From the hassle

of registering for the event as well as having to request off work to attend the session to paying

for this certification seem to be big problems with the programs’ layout. The Crown Ambassador

Program strives to inform citizens of the city to Make Charlotte into the “Premiere Regional

Destination”, but do they have the best strategy is the question to ask. Charlotte is not only the

competitor that the NKYCVB has to compete with. Lexington is even more of a competitor than

Charlotte due to it being located only 80 miles from the NKYCVB.


The Lexington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) has a bit of a different approach

to their ambassador program. A third party is used for Lexington CVB instead of creating a

unique one themselves, although it is termed the Bluegrass Tourism Ambassador Program.

Launched in February, 2008, the Bluegrass Tourism Ambassador program creates a pool of front

line staff and volunteers who are specially trained to interact with visitors. This training helps

ensure that the city conveys consistency in message, accuracy in details and a high level of

hospitality throughout the region. The primary goal of the program is to educate participants

about the tourism product. Key components of the course are: the impact of tourism, navigating

the Bluegrass Region, knowing the best information resources, exceeding customer expectations

and cultural competence (Lexington, KY - Horse Capital of the World). The Lexington

Convention and Visitors Bureau contracted with renowned hospitality trainer Mickey Schaefer,

owner of Mickey Schaefer & Associates and founder of the Tourism Ambassador Institute to be

the accredited provider for Certified Tourism Ambassadors. Citizens, who decide to go through

the Bluegrass Tourism Ambassador training and pass the exam at the end of the course, receive a

national certification with the designation of "CTA" (Certified Tourism Ambassador) through

the Tourism Ambassador Institute (Lexington, KY - Horse Capital of the World). This program

seems to be marketed through word of mouth in the Lexington area. Along with word of mouth,

there is an online overview of the program and the overview of how you proceed to sign up and

receive a certification.

The Tourism Ambassador Institute site offers multiple ambassador programs in the

country, with Lexington being among one of the cities. The procedure is as follows: Register and

pay the fee of $25, read course materials, attend a half day CTA training session, and pass an

open book exam at the end of class. What is not clearly mentioned is that along with the $25


enrollment fee, there is an annual fee to keep your certification valid, which is a range from $20-

$50 a year. There wasn’t a clear cut amount on the website for Lexington when it was searched

for. This option seems that it might be a little ‘easier’ for the Bureau, being that all the

maintenance of the program is through the Tourism Ambassador Institute, but not convenient for

the participants of the program. The down side to this program is the fact it doesn’t seem like a

personal approach along with the reoccurring cost of maintaining the certification. In addition,

the participant also may have to request off of work to attend the half a day CTA session that is

required to receive the certification.

Both Charlotte and Lexington have a good approach at an ambassador program to inform

and teach citizens of their cities about the area in order to help tourists along with visitors.

Looking over these analyses, it is clear that the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s

Bureau can create a program that is based off of both cities current programs. To have the

competitive advantage, though, NKYCVB will have a couple of great opportunities to tweak

their program to not only be different than Charlotte and Lexington but become a city that the

current and even future competitors will want to align with.

Based on this information, NKYCVB will be compared to both Charlotte and Lexington

on six different measures (see below) in order to see where NKYCVB can improve at and where

they currently excel at in the market.


Strategic Group Analysis

See Above Graph: Along the X Axis, The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

now promotes that they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their competitors, both

Lexington and Charlotte are available for a specific amount of hours per week. Charlotte is

available 52.5 hours per week to visitors and tourists of this North Carolina region. Likewise,

Lexington is available 54.5 hours per week to their visitors and tourists of this Kentucky region.

All three of these Bureaus also spread a certain amount of counties in their areas. Along the Y

Axis, The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau covers 3 counties, although

Cincinnati can account for this area in some cases. With Charlotte, this region spans over a 16

county area, while Lexington spans over a 15 county area. All of this information leads us to the

above graph and data points.

Sources: http://www.northernkentuckycvb.com/ ; http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/;

http://www.visitlex.com/

Northern

Kentucky

Charlotte, NC

Lexington, KY

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Cou

nty

Sp

read

for

Con

ven

tion

an

d

Vis

itor'

s B

ure

au

Percentage of Time Available to Communicate to Visitor's

Percentage of Time Available to Communicate vs.

County Spread of Bureau


See Above Graph: Along the X Axis, The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

area currently has a hotel tax of 11. 8%. The Charlotte Convention and Visitor’s Bureau area, on

the other hand, has a hotel tax of 16.25%. Lastly, the Lexington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

area has a hotel tax of 13.4%. Along the Y Axis is the amount of space that is available in the

Convention Centers that are near the three Bureaus. For the Northern Kentucky Convention and

Visitor’s Bureau, 110,000 sq. ft. of space is available at their convention center. In Charlotte,

there is 90,000 sq. ft. of space that is available for use in the area. Lastly, the Lexington

Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has 106,000 sq. ft. of available space available at their

convention center for reserving.

Sources: http://www.northernkentuckycvb.com/ ; http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/ ;


Northern

Kentucky

Charlotte, NC

Lexington, KY

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

0 5 10 15 20

Sp

ace

Av

ail

ab

le a

t L

oca

l C

on

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Cen

ter

Hotel Tax

Hotel Tax vs. Space Available at Local Convention Center


See Above Graph: Along the X Axis, the number of employees from each Bureau is shown. The

Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s Bureau currently has 15 employees serving for the

organization. As for Charlotte, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has 14 current employees

working for the organization. And lastly, the Lexington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has 10

employees along with 7 sales and convention services staff members. Now, along the Y Axis are

the minutes from the airport to the downtown area where the convention center and/or hotels are

where the tourists and visitors will stay. For the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor’s

Bureau, the downtown area is a short 15 minutes from the Cincinnati Airport. In Charlotte, the

distance between the airport and the downtown area is 20 minutes. And lastly, the Lexington

Convention and Visitor’s Bureau posted a 10 minute trip from the area’s closest airport to the

downtown Lexington area.

Sources: http://www.northernkentuckycvb.com/ ; http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/ ;


Northern

Kentucky

Charlotte, NC

Lexington, KY

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 5 10 15 20

Min

ute

s fr

om

Air

port

Number of Employees at Convention and Visitor's Bureau

Distance from Airport vs. Number of Employees


Internal Analysis

Resource and Capability Analysis

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau have a number of valuable

resources available at their disposal. First, NKYCVB has a strong, in-depth website that

potential customers can easily access. The website provides large amounts of information for

tourists on deciding which possible venue suits them best. As well, it offers an entire list of

different resources these clients would need when planning their event. The list features local

websites and phone numbers of different places and services-anywhere from booking airline

reservations to finding speakers for their event. NKYCVB’s website is a vital resource for the

company.

Second, NKYCVB has access to over 65 brand name hotels including The Marriott,

Comfort Inn, Hilton, The Radisson, Holiday Inn, and Drawbridge Inn. These hotels combined

can offer more than 7,000 rooms. The brands of all these major hotel chains assist the

convention and visitors bureau in providing exceptional services to all their customers, as well as

being a valuable resource to NKYCVB.

In addition, NKYCVB has access to different types of meeting spaces. Every meeting or

convention requires a variety of needs and accommodations. The NKYCVB is able to offer the

METs Center for Corporate Learning, Northern Kentucky Convention Center, and the Bank of

Kentucky Center to possible clients. For example, if a company needed access to high-tech

technology, the METs Center would be a reasonable choice. If they were planning a rather large

conference, the Northern Kentucky Convention Center would be the one of use. These diverse

meeting spaces are all needed resources for NKYCVB.


Third, NKYCVB’s network of top-notch sales, marketing, and management team is also

a resource to the company. These 25 full time employees help in e-marketing by promoting the

meetings and conventions through e-mails, graphics, and digital images. Moreover, they offer

pre-event promotion by providing visitors’ information on the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati

area to attendees. They realize how important it is to generate excitement and buzz about an

event in order to increase attendance and meet clients’ needs. They are an exceptionally eager

team ready to help.

Last, but not least, the convention center’s implementation of the ambassador program,

web-based teaching module will be a particularly valuable asset for NKYCVB. This module

will teach and emphasize the value of tourism in Northern Kentucky. Any employee (of local

hotels, restaurants, attractions, etc.) that comes in contact with a tourist would take this test in

order to guide visitors in the right direction and to become more educated on the NKY area.

All of these resources are necessary in order for NKYCVB to continue operating efficiently and

effectively. They just have to continue leveraging them to stay ahead of their competition.

Core Competencies and Sustainability of Core Competencies

One significant core competency of Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau

is their commitment to technology. They are well-known for keeping up with the evolving

technology of today. To remain competitive and prepared for what is up and coming with

technology, they make sure to do their absolute best to stay ahead. This strategy assists them in

improving and adjusting efficiencies and in projecting the brand they desire. In addition, it helps

to convey and market their image and obtain what they want and need to be a successful

company.


From a sustainability standpoint, NKYCVB commitment to technology can one day be

forsaken, unless they work hard to remain proficient. Continuously, they have to be willing to

spend large amounts of money when needed to keep up with the developing technology.

A second vital core competency for NKYCVB is that they frequently aim for the highest quality

standards in everything that they do. This means that whoever they hire, the marketing they

deliver, the aggressive sales strategies they obtain, and the high quality customer service

projections they yield will be elite. NKYCVB has effectively been able to accomplish this

throughout the years.

Along with their commitment to their previous competency, aiming for the highest

quality standards may also be difficult to sustain. NKYCVB must spend a vast amount of time

in searching for the best candidates in order to create the best marketing strategies and have the

best team. In order to reach the customer service scores they desire, it’s important that they are

patient and to make sure that their employees are trained appropriately for the job.

A final crucial core competency for the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is

that their high-class services differentiate and distinguish them from their competitors. This

includes being able to maintain excellent customer service satisfaction scores and ratings and

influencing travelers to come back to the Northern Kentucky region. For example, NKYCVB

has held a 98.7% excellent customer rating and a 97.2% rating on “intent to return.” These are

the highest customer service scores in the area. Thus, because of their success and confidence in

their customer service, they are able to offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Additionally,

NKYCVB provides planning and meeting assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They

realize that productive and beneficial conventions are not just planned on a 9-5 basis. Customer


service is by far NKYCVB’s primary competency. Therefore, this must remain sustained in

order for NKYCVB to keep their competitive edge.

Value Chain and Outsourcing Analysis

Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau’s value chain is very successful,

comprehensive, and straight-forward. Their main output is actually persuading visitors to come

to Northern Kentucky and successfully booking a conference or meeting with them. It all starts

with a sales manager. It is their job to begin the activity of networking and finding possible

clients for NKYCVB. In addition, since NKYCVB is so customer-focused, every step in the

value chain revolves around providing the best customer service imaginable.

Since NKYCVB already has a top-notch sales team, excellent customer service sores, and

a good reputation in place, outsourcing would be risky for them. The business is better off

keeping control over their activities since it is so customer service oriented. Outsourcing certain

parts of the company may put them in harm’s way and may also have a negative impact on their

value chain.

Sales Manager Networking Negotiations Creating Proposal

Visit Northern Kentucky and

Book Conference

NKYCVB’s Support Activities: CUSTOMER SERVICE, sales, interpersonal skills, review

and renegotiations of contracts, site visits, decision-making, contracting, following up with

clients, tourism, research and development, information technology


Financial Ratio Analysis

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau obtain the majority of their

commission from sales: booking meetings and conventions, along with sponsorships and

partnerships they have with local hotels and restaurants. In the past two years, tourism has

increased dramatically for the state of Kentucky. From 2010 to 2011, there was a $9 million

dollar increase just in the amount of money spent on lodging. This accounted for more than 50%

of visitor spending. In addition, this also displays just how much money the tourism industry can

make and how vitally important it is to bring tourists to the Northern Kentucky region. Other

economic impacts from tourism included restaurants, shopping, entertainment, and local

transportation.

As the chart displays above, throughout the past few years, NKYCVB has been

successful with the tourism industry. If they continue to do their job efficiently and effectively,

revenue will only continue to increase yearly. It is acknowledged that NKYCVB knows how to

http://www.northernkentuckycvb.com/annual-report/


bring visitors to the area and knows how to satisfy their needs; hence their 98.7% customer

service score and 97.2% score on intent to return.

Balanced Scorecard Analysis

Currently the bureau does not have a balanced scorecard concerning their company. A

balanced scorecard is simply a way to measure performance more than just through financial

measures. It shows where a company should be headed and is used to make better, more

informed decisions. Additionally, there are four main categories or business perspectives that

need to be taken into consideration with this particular analysis: customer strategy, learning and

growth strategy, internal business strategy, and financial strategy. All of these measures have to

be effectively analyzed and improved frequently in order for the bureau to prosper. Below are

scorecard proposals for NKYCVB:

Customer Strategies

Goal #1: Attract Businesses and Participants for the Program

Measures: Offer incentives and bring awareness

Target: 10% of each company’s employees

Initiative: Utilize current network

Goal #2: Maintain Customer Service Satisfaction Rates and Intent to Return Rates

Measures: MP’s measures

Target: 98.7% customer service satisfaction rate and 97.2% intent to return rate

Initiative: Continue performing above and beyond industry standards


Learning and Growth Strategies

Goal #1: Maximize Use of the Web/Information Technology

Measures: Number of followers and likes on social media sites

Target: 10% increase in measures after 3 months

Initiative: start using sites to market program and get name out

Goal #2: Increase Workforce Knowledge and Skills

Measures: Number of people taking the test and reaching the next level and through

seminar

Target: In next 6 months, have at least 10% of each business’ employees participating

Initiative: Create partnership with local mobile application, seminar

Internal Business Strategy

Goal #1: Create Marketing Strategy for Roll Out of New Program

Measures: Effectiveness of the strategy, how many people are actually taking the test

Target: Immediate word of mouth

Initiatives: Post to social media sites, attend promotions/festivals, hire interns

Financial Business Strategy

Goal #1: Minimize Cost

Measure: Monitor budget and costs

Target: Minimal costs with program

Initiatives: Use technology and social media to advantage, make use of free resources


Competitive Strength Assessment

The competitive strength assessment is a table that is put together to help show where a

business or company falls when looking at multiple key factors that are used to measure success

in the industry. Along with the company, a handful of rivals are also being analyzed with the

same key factors. In this case, NKYCVB is the main company at hand. Their competitors that we

will be comparing the key factors to are the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau along

with the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The competitive strength assessment can be composed of two tables: an un-weighted and

a weighted. In this analysis, both tables are below to show how even though they are the same;

there is a difference between the two. The first table (Un-Weighted) is shown below:

NKYCVB Lexington CVB Charlotte CVB

Key Measures

Space Availability 10 9 7

Customer Service 10 9 7

Travel Options 7 8 10

People in Convention Center 7 10 6

Major Attractions 9 10 7

Number of Employees 10 7 9

Adaption to Technology* 6/8 7 4

Hotel Tax 10 8 6

Marketing (of Program)* 0/7 6 3

Un-Weighted Overall Strength Score 69/78 74 59

Strength Rating (1 = Very Weak; 10 = Very Strong)

As you can see from the graph above, there are 9 key factors that we used to measure

NKYCVB along with Lexington CVB and Charlotte CVB. The three bureaus’ get rated on a 1-

10 point scale on where they stand currently in each key measure. To score a 1, means that that


measure is very weak with that bureau, while scoring a 10 is when a bureau has the maximum

advantage in that factor. No bureau can get the same number for each measure. After analyzing

each bureau in each measure, the above data was determined.

The second graph is very similar in the aspect of the key factors and scoring, but another

calculation is incorporated and creates the weighted competitive strength assessment. This

weighted data is listed below:

Importance

Weight

Strength

RatingScore

Strength

RatingScore

Strength

RatingScore

Key Measures

Space Availability 0.20 10 2 9 1.8 7 1.4

Customer Service 0.15 10 1.5 8 1.2 7 1.05

Travel Options 0.15 7 1.05 8 1.2 10 1.5

Seats in Convention Center 0.15 9 1.35 10 1.5 8 1.2

Major Attractions 0.10 9 0.9 10 1 7 0.7

Adaption to Technology* 0.10 6/8 0.6/0.8 7 0.7 4 0.4

Hotel Tax 0.05 10 0.5 8 0.4 6 0.3

Number of Employees 0.05 10 0.5 7 0.35 9 0.45

Marketing (of Program)* 0.05 0/7 0/0.35 6 0.3 3 0.15

Weighted Overall Strength Score 1 69/78 8.40/8.95 73 8.45 61 7.15

Strength Rating (1 = Very Weak; 10 = Very Strong)

NKYCVB Lexington CVB Charlotte CVB

Where this graph differs from the previous is that importance weights are established and

placed with the previous score to create a ‘weighted’ competitive strength assessment. The more

important key measures have higher weights along with the lesser factors have a lower

importance weight. Once the weight was determined, it was then multiplied by the score from

the first graph and the total is displayed in yellow out of a total score of 9 (since there are 9

factors and the total importance weights have to equal 1 or 100%).


The order and decision of what factor was more important was a choice that our group made

and will explain in the following:

1. Space Availability – When a group of people are joining together for a gathering,

whether it be a meeting or a party of some sort, the first thing they look at when visiting

venues is space. Will it fit the amount of people attending? Will there be enough room?

Will participants be crowded? These are all questions that the host will want immediate

answers to. As a group, we felt that this was the most important key measure to both the

bureaus and the host trying to find a venue. Due to this importance we weighted this

measure with a 0.20 weight.

With the scoring, we had NKYCVB with the highest, a 10, due to them having the

largest amount of space with the NKY Convention Center, at 110,000 square feet.

Lexington is very close with 109,000 square feet. which is why they received a close 9 on

the assessment table. Charlotte was scored a 7 due to their much smaller amount of space

in their facilities, with 90,000 square feet. Although that space is large, Lexington and

Northern Kentucky are just a few steps ahead with square footage, which set them both

apart from Charlotte.

2. Customer Service – Once the visiting company or group picks a venue, customer service

is very important, especially when the visiting group isn’t familiar with the area. The

amount of access the company can have with the bureau to help keep track of how plans

are coming or additional needs that need to be met is crucial. This was the reason for

ranking this measure second among the nine. With this being second, an importance

weight of 0.15 was given.


With the scoring, NKYCVB clearly deserved a 10, due to their 24 hour customer

service that they provide to all of their guests and clients. Lexington was scored an 8,

due to ‘normal’ hours available to be contact, along with a few hours over the weekend

to be open to clients. Charlotte was very similar to Lexington, but had fewer hours

available to the public on the weekends, so a score of 7 was given to their bureau.

3. Travel Options – When having a gathering in a big city, transportation is key when time

is available for the parties to see around the area. With that reason, we ranked this

measure as third and gave an importance weight of 0.15.

With the scoring, Charlotte was given a 10 due to their broad range of

transportation. From their light rail system that is run daily to their bus transportation,

Charlotte offers a lot to its visitors in terms of transportation. With Northern Kentucky

and Lexington, both offer a great bus transportation. With this in mind Lexington

received a score of 8, while Northern Kentucky received a score of 7. This small

difference was due to the price of fares. With a 50 cent difference, Lexington pushed

through to receive the 8.

4. Seats in Convention Center – This measure coincides with space available. This is from

the aspect of how many people each convention center is able to hold comfortably.

Because this is a more important measure, we ranked it forth and gave an importance

weight of 0.15

With the scoring, Lexington was given a 10. Knowing that both Lexington and

Northern Kentucky are very close in size, Lexington states that they are able to seat 4,500

people. The down side is that there is more ‘hype’ about Rupp Arena than the convention

center, so the 23,000 seat arena is more talked about. Right behind Lexington, with a


score of 9 is Northern Kentucky. The Northern Kentucky Convention Center can seat up

to 3,900 people and does a great job stating exactly what the area can hold with other

topics such as exhibitors and conferences. With a score of 8, Charlotte states that their

convention center holds 3,500 at once. Although there is a large amount, both Lexington

and Northern Kentucky is larger.

5. Major Attractions – When a client comes into town, or uses a venue for meeting or

gathering purposes, major attractions in the area is an important factor. When down time

is available, these attractions are what visitors like to attend or see. For this reason, this

measure was ranked fifth and given an importance weight of 0.10.

With the scoring, Lexington was given a 10, due to their recent success in NCAA

basketball, along with attractions such as the University of Kentucky, Rupp Arena, Horse

Farms and Parks and others that attract a variety of guests. With a score of 9, Northern

Kentucky has similar attractions that help promote themselves. Being close to Cincinnati,

NKYCVB is able to market that side of the river along with places such as Newport on

the Levee and the Purple People Bridge. Finally, Charlotte was given a score of 8. Their

attractions seem to revolve around a niche group of individuals, such as the NASCAR

Hall of Fame and the large number of art centers.

6. Adaption to Technology – Technology is the fastest and most up to date form of

communication. It is something that bureaus need to adapt, because it will only be getting

more advanced with time. The faster bureaus are able to adopt to better inform clients and

visitors, the better they will be as a bureau and the more visitors will appreciate them for

their adaption ability. This is why this measure was ranked sixth and given an importance

weight of 0.10.


With a score of 7, Lexington has a few advantages such as their regular updates to

social media along with an app for visitors when visiting the area. With a score of 6,

NKCVB is lacking in the social media world and has no app for visitors at the moment.

We believe with our ideas, that this number could surpass Lexington if they are

implemented. Finally, with a score of 4, Charlotte lacks in both social media and app

availability.

7. Hotel Tax – Hotel tax is important because the less money that the visitor or client has to

pay, the happier they are and in turn, the happier the bureau is. For this reason, this

measure was ranked seventh and given an importance weight of 0.05.

With scoring, NKYCVB received a score of 10 with their hotel tax at 11.8%.

Lexington CVB received a score of 8 due to the 1.6% jump to 13.4% hotel tax. Finally,

with a staggering 16.25% hotel tax, Charlotte received a score of 6, putting them in third.

8. Number of Employees – This measure is a factor that is important more to the bureau

itself than the visitor, although it does benefit them when wanting to get contacted with a

representative. Employees help run a business, or bureau in this case. For that reason, this

measure was ranked eighth and given an importance weight of 0.05.

With scoring, again, NKYCVB received a 10 due to its current 15 employee staff.

Right behind them, with a score of 9, Charlotte currently has 14 employees on at their

bureau. Finally, with a score of 7, Lexington currently has a staff of 10 employees,

although, in addition, they have a 7 employee staff outside of the bureau that helps with

sales of the convention center.

9. Marketing (of the Program) – This measure seemed to be a measure in the sense that

when the ambassador program is live, that this will be a great key factor with clients.


Having knowledgeable citizens and locals help guests find things that might not be

noticed with a pamphlet given when arrived. For that reason this measure was ranked

ninth and given an importance weight of 0.05.

With scoring, Lexington received a score of 6. Their current marketing of the

program is well known to the visitor, but is stated in information given, but not standing

out to the eye. There could be more if the bureau put a bit more effort into marketing.

With a score of 3, Charlotte has very low marketing of their program. After receiving an

email that they only marketing was through friends, it is clear that the Charlotte bureau

could do much more to promote and market the program. With NKYCVB implementing

this program, we feel that this is the bureaus time to shine, in this measure. With the help

of our strategies explained later, there is very much potential for a great marketing plan to

arise.

This overview hopefully helps you understand the competitive assessment table more and

gives a better comprehension of the strengths and weaknesses of the Northern Kentucky

Convention and Visitors Bureau stands among its competitors Lexington Convention and

Visitors Bureau and Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Business (and Corporate Level) Strategies Assessment

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau currently have a board of

directors, also known as the Commission. The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors

Commission was formed by an interaction of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce,

Northern Kentucky Hotel/Motel Association, and the Northern Kentucky Restaurant


Association, as a result of enabling legislation passed by the General Assembly of Kentucky at

their 1974 session. The Commission was authorized by official actions of the Fiscal Courts of

Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties, Kentucky. The Commission current has 18 members,

who vary in the hospitality industry. Membership is composed of 6 members from each County

comprising the Commission appointed by the County Judge/Executive (Objectives, Policies and

Procedures of the NKYCV Commission 1).

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Commissions mission statement is as

follows:

“To promote the economic growth of Northern Kentucky through the expenditure of the

Transient Room Tax to attract conventions, meetings and visitors to the area by acting as an

aggressive sales, marketing and service organization..” (Objectives, Policies and Procedures of

the NKYCV Commission 1)

Along with their mission statement, the NKYCV Commission objectives are as follows:

1. To increase business to every establishment that directly or indirectly serves the

conventioneer and/or the traveling public through active sales, marketing and service

programs.

2. To encourage those serving the traveling public to always render a high standard of

performance; and to levy charges proportionate to the quality and quantity of service

and/or products supplied.


3. To extend the hand of welcome to all visitors, and visitor prospects, in keeping with the

highest traditions of hospitality expected of our area; and in keeping with fair and honest

business practice.

4. To lend consultation, advice and encouragement to the development of programs and

projects that will enhance the general appeal of the area to tourists.

5. To maintain the Transient Room Tax for the sole purpose of promoting convention and

tourist activity to the area and not for the support, administration or operation of special

interest group projects, programs or facilities.

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Commission is currently filled, buy when

vacancies occur, they are filled based on appointment. The positions stated in the previous table

consist of various people in the hospitality industry around the 3 county (Boone, Campbell, and

Kenton) span.

There are four committees that the commission offers members to participate: Executive

Committee, Marketing Committee, Budget Review Committee and Compensation Committee.

Many of the members are a part of at least of the committees listed and help with future

community decisions along with the NKYCVB.

Extent and Type of Firm’s International Strategy

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau currently has a third party, the

Regional Tourism Network, promote their international travel. Although leisure travel is the term

used synonymously with international travel, the bureau is linked with the Greater Cincinnati


Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as various community partners to collaborate with the

Regional Tourism Network to market the region.

According to the Regional Tourism Network’s website, www.cincinnatiusa.com, they are

a destination marketing company that promotes leisure travel to drive overnight visitation to

regional hotels, attractions and entertainment experiences in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Founded in 2005, the RTN attracts new leisure visitors and dollars to the region while

consistently building a loyal base of repeat visitors.

The Regional Tourism Network helps showcase attractions, hotels, and dining options

among other unique places to visit while staying in the region. With the website come

advantages and disadvantages with consideration to the Northern Kentucky Convention and

Visitors Bureau. An advantage is that this option exists. The fact that the bureau can be promoted

international is a huge benefit to the both the city and the bureau and can help increase visitors

by reaching the maximum areas around the world. The risk or disadvantage of this network is

that both Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s Convention and Visitors Bureau is merged and

promoted on the same platform. Although these cities don’t consider themselves competition,

Cincinnati will outshine Northern Kentucky as of right now in time. People outside the country

will be more aware of Cincinnati rather than Northern Kentucky and decide to work with

Cincinnati due to being more aware of the city more than Northern Kentucky. An advantage to

this merge though, is the fact that this puts Northern Kentucky ‘on the map’ and makes

foreigners aware that the area exists and is a place that could be visited along with Cincinnati.


Composition of Board Members

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Commission, like previously stated, is

composed of 18 people from within the hospitality industry in the Northern Kentucky area. The

current members, with titles, organizations associated with, county from and company related to

is listed below:

Northern Kentucky Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Commissioners

Prefix First Name Last Name Title Organization County Company

Mr. John Ellison Chair Restaurant

Association Campbell

Hofbrauhaus

Newport

Mr. Michael Conway Vice-Chair Hotel-Motel

Association Kenton

Winegardner &

Hammons, Inc.

Mr. Alan Bernstein Treasurer Hotel-Motel

Association Campbell BB Riverboats

Mr. Gordon L. Snyder Past Chair Restaurant

Association Kenton

Commonwealth

Hotels, Inc.

Mr. Nicholas Ellison

Hotel-Motel

Association Campbell

Hofbrauhaus

Newport

Mr. Daniel T. Fay

Hotel-Motel

Association Boone

Commonwealth

Hotels, Inc.

Mr. Tim Bray

Fiscal Court

Appointment Kenton

Kentucky

Speedway

Mr. William I. Donnermeyer

Fiscal Court

Appointment Campbell

Rep. Joseph Fischer

Legislative

Appointment Campbell

Mr. Jack Gordon

Chamber of

Commerce Boone Turfway Park

Rep. Adam Koenig

Legislative

Appointment Kenton

Mr. Lee Palaschak

Hotel-Motel

Association Kenton

Ambridge

Hospitality

Mr. Charlie Pangburn

Chamber of

Commerce Kenton UC Health

Mr. Subhas Patel

Hotel-Motel

Association Boone

Keystone Hotel

Group

Mr. Eric Rose

Chamber of

Commerce Campbell Newport Aquarium

Mr. Sal Santoro

Fiscal Court

Appointment Boone

House of

Representatives

Mr. David Smith

Restaurant

Association Boone

Cincinnati Airport

Marriott

Rep. Addia Wuchner

Legislative

Appointment Boone


Having this many members currently on the commission shows that this board is very

determined and motivated to help improve the Northern Kentucky area as much as they can in

the hospitality industry in order to help attract the area to current and future visitors. The variety

of the members is very useful when making decisions for the area and every aspect of each area.

In addition, there are members from all three counties represented by the NKYCVB, so everyone

is incorporated and knowledgeable about what is going on with the bureau and in the area.

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Commission is comprised of a great

number of members who range with knowledge that will only benefit the Northern Kentucky

area along with the bureau.

Structure of the Firm

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is structured as a quasi-

governmental business. This means that it is treated by national laws and regulations to be under

the guidance of the government, but also separate and autonomous from the government. These

organizations are often partially or majority funded by the government. They are usually

considered highly important to smooth running of society, and are sometimes propped up with

cash infusions in times of crisis to help surmount situations that would bankrupt a normal

privately owned business (merriam-webster.com).

With this structure and the help of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors

Commission, all appropriate strategic and financial controls are in place. With our proposed

strategies to follow, controls are in place to keep costs down, due to the low money available to

the bureau to help promote and award participants in the program. Creative strategies are also in


place to help bring awareness to the ambassador program and to convince locals that it is worth

participating. With the following issues being addressed, this quasi-governmental business will

have plenty of reachable recommendations to get maintain appropriate strategic and financial

controls in the bureau.

Issue Identification

There are four issues that have been identified by the NKYCVB that we creat strategies

to help with solutions. There are as follows:

The first issue facing the bureau is the lack of marketing for the ambassador program.

They currently have no marketing plan for the roll out of their ambassador program to the

community. One of the main reasons for this is their lack of social media expertise and usage.

They are currently struggling immensely with their online capabilities. Consequently, since

NKYCVB has no marketing strategy in place at this time, this puts their whole program at risk

and the successfulness of it.

Second, the bureau has no incentives for the new ambassador program. They currently

do not recognize a way to get employees and employers involved in the program and keeping

them engaged. As a result, this also puts the effectiveness and successfulness of the program in

danger. The individuals taking the test need motivation to complete the increasing tiers of the

programs. For these reasons, the bureau needs to have enticing incentives.

Another huge issue that they have at hand is that NKYCVB needs assistance in designing

and implementing the test questions and answers. They currently have no test questions created.


The company would like to produce three levels of testing for the program and currently there

are none.

Finally, we believe the idea of partnering with a local company can be raised. This is

seen as not necessarily an issue, but as an excellent opportunity for the bureau as well as the

other organization.

Our group has created four strategies to help solve these problems and they will be

discussed as our next topic.

Proposed Strategies and Implementation Schedule

Incentives

One of NKYCVB’s challenges for the destination education program is keeping the

“students” engaged and interested in becoming an ambassador of NKY. We are proposing that

NKYCVB utilize incentive marketing and offer incentives to both the participants and local

businesses. NKYCVB’s target market is anyone that comes in contact with visitors and a large

percentage of these individuals come from hotels, attractions, restaurants, etc. We believe

NKYCVB would benefit by contacting owners/managers of these local businesses and informing

them of the advantages not only their business would be receiving but their direct employees as

well.

One way to attract both the employees and employers to participate with this program is

to give them incentives. NKYCVB will offer the students or employees discounts/coupons from

the local participating businesses. We propose after completion of the first and second levels of

testing, the student will be directed to the area on the website to print off their sheet of coupons.


Since NKYCVB can’t create local businesses’ coupons, NKYCVB can propose to the businesses

to participate in this program with the only cost of an available coupon or discount. There will

be a 3”x4” space available for each coupon a business has to offer.

Along with the business’ participation, NKYCVB can guarantee them that their business

will be listed on the Official NKYCVB Vendor Referral Brochure. However, to generate more

participates; NKYCVB can place a certain percentage of businesses’ employees that would be

required to take the test in order for the business to be in the referral brochure. We are proposing

that each business have at least 10% of their employees complete all three levels of testing.

This proposal should entice the businesses to participate for multiple reasons. Not only are they

assisting in educating individuals of the tourism community, but they are also advertising their

business through the coupon availability. Additionally, these businesses will be promoted by the

NKYCVB on their referral brochure, which will be especially beneficial during major events that

come to the Northern Kentucky area. Lastly, the biggest benefit these businesses will receive is

being NKYB Accredited.

NKYCVB’s mission statement demonstrates their responsibility of positively impacting

the NKY economy through marketing and informative organization focusing on tourism. The

NKYCVB has demonstrated to local businesses and visitors that they are a credible source of

tourism, most knowledgeable, and competent in displaying the most excellent customer service.

This level of credibility should be recognized by offering the tourism community the chance to

be NKYB Accredited. One way for businesses and individuals to become NKYB Accredited is

by completing this program. This program is an entry strategy for NKYCVB in elevating their

tourism image.


There will be a couple different ways to display this type of accreditation. Upon

completion of all three levels of testing, the student will receive a lapel pin to wear with pride.

The businesses will also receive various stamps of approval that include window stickers and

lapel pins if they are able to have at least 50% of their employees participate in the program.

NKYCVB can obtain the lapel pins through the website www.allaboutpins.com. We found that

this vendor has relatively the same pricing as other vendors but they offer free assistance in art

design for the NKY Accredited image and free shipping. We feel that an appropriate size of the

pins would be 1.50” and the ideal purchase count should be 500 pins for the first order. The

estimate purchase for the pins will be between $700 and $800. The window decals for the

businesses can be purchase through a vendor like Vistaprint, www.vistaprint.com. Vistaprint

offers a small size with the dimensions of 4.8”x4.8”. We feel this would be an appropriate size

for businesses to display in their window, preferably by the front door. Vistaprint also offers

businesses to upload their own design or use designs they have available. NKYCVB could

utilize their NKY Accredited image to be displayed on this decal as well. We are proposing that

NKYCVB purchase 100 decals at $188.00. With additional minimum costs, including logo

upload, tax, and shipping, the window decals would run NKYCVB between $200 and $300. In

total the incentives may run NKYCVB near $1,000; however the NKYCVB is creating an

accreditation image, creating awareness to tourism, and generating revenue.

Ultimately, this NKYCVB Accreditation should become an additional incentive to both

the students/employees and the businesses that are involved. This accreditation is a positive

approach into emphasizing the value of tourism to this area. Being accredited shows that all

those that have participated have taken the extra steps in becoming more aware of the


surrounding Northern Kentucky area and how ultimately each individual has a major impact on a

visitor’s return.

Social Media

Popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are becoming an

increasingly valuable tool for companies to market their products. With more than 800 million

users logging into Facebook every day, over and above 500 million Twitter consumers, and more

than 150 million professionals connected on LinkedIn, there are a vast amount of individuals

NKYCVB can easily and quickly reach out to in order to showcase their new ambassador

program (User Activity). Whether or not it is realized, social media is here to stay. It is used by

nearly everyone and is the most popular online activity. For this reason, we believe NKYCVB

needs to update and improve their social media sites and to begin making use out of the free

resources that are made available directly in front of them.

To first begin the implementation of the updated sites, NKYCVB needs to change their

Facebook name from Northern Kentucky CVB to their full name- Northern Kentucky

Convention and Visitors Bureau. We suggest this simply because when searched by their full

name in the search bar on Facebook, no results are found. If people cannot locate their page

(other than going to NKYCVB’s home webpage), they are unable to “like” their page, follow

them, and consequently, unable to read the posts by the convention center.

Marketing on NKYCVB’s Twitter site is great place to start. With nearly 660 followers

and an active tweeting capacity, NKYCVB will be able to reach more people and quickly. We

suggest they start following not only other businesses around the area but more locals. They can

do this by finding people who are tweeting about the region (i.e. #NorthernKentucky).


NKYCVB’s LinkedIn account is nearly non-existent. With only a measly 14 followers,

no pictures, and no description of the company, NKYCVB has a tremendous amount of room for

improvement on the site.

In order to make this a successful business strategy for NKYCVB, we propose hiring

three social media interns and three marketing interns. Northern Kentucky University’s own

Entrepreneurship Institute Student Coordinator, Jeff Varrone has agreed to be a reference in

getting the word out to students. His contact information is as follows:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (859) 572-5931

Office: Haile/US Bank College of Business Room 393

Mr. Varrone would serve as an extremely valuable person in making the opportunity

known to students and in obtaining top talent. Also, the College of Business just recently hired

an individual who will be working solely with internships for NKU College of Business students.

With both marketing and social media interns, we believe these college students will have the

freshest ideas on marketing strategies and creative ideas for improving NKYCVB’s social media

sites. Depending on NKYCVB’s budget, these do not have to be paid internships. In addition,

some qualities that we suggest you look for in these interns are: good communication abilities,

solid writing skills with the capability to get the message across in a simple yet sweet and

creative way, good work ethic, enthusiasm to learn more about the industry, and one who shows

initiate and imagination.


Looking at social media overall, we propose that an increase of 10% of followers and/or

likes be implemented in the next 3 months. This goal seems realistic and with the help of interns

and other resources, the percentage will climb steadily throughout the next year.

Finally, we suggest NKYCVB contact hotel human resource departments around the area

to make known the importance and advantages of the ambassador program to their employees.

In addition, using the strong network of people and companies that NKYCVB currently has will

also be another way to make the program well-known to many other people.

Seminar

In order to inform and bring awareness to the community about the ambassador program,

an informational seminar should be held. This would be a one time opportunity for businesses,

employees, and locals to become knowledgeable about the program and what it offers to those

who partake in it as well as the visitors and tourists.

The seminar will be broken up into four Saturday’s, with each weekend day being a

different target audience. The first Saturday will be for business owners/managers of local hotels:

The Holiday Inn, The Marriott, etc. The second Saturday will be for business owners/managers

of local restaurants. The third weekend will be for business owners/managers of major

attractions along with the ‘things to do’ category in the area. This includes shopping, dining,

Florence Freedom, Newport Aquarium, etc. The fourth and final Saturday will be for the ‘other’

category. This includes city officials, police, fire departments, local citizens along with any other

person wanting to gain more knowledge about what the program contains.

The seminar is suggested to be held from 8am to 10am due to the job titles that these

participants have as well as the convenience. The outline of each seminar will be relatively the


same. The reason for having separate seminars is to help target each industry to give them a more

personalized pitch and make the meeting more personable. This ambassador program will affect

each industry in a unique way, which is another reason for the separate seminars.

For each seminar, the outline or order of topics will be as follows:

1. What is the program?

2. The purpose of the program?

3. Why employees should participate?

a. To emphasize the value of tourism

4. The effects the program will have on the Northern Kentucky area

These seminars will be promoted through word of mouth through the bureau and

convention center. Along with word of mouth, establishments will be alerted by e-mail (if

available) and promotions will also run online for followers to become aware. This approach is

virtually no cost to the bureau and is valid and acceptable for an event such as this.

At the end of the series of seminars, the next step is to have the attendees go back to their

establishment and figure out an appropriate percentage of employees that would like to invest in

participating in the program once it is launched. Along with this, awareness to employees would

be appropriate to request that the establishments carry out. This program will thrive on word of

mouth, so the more people that are aware of the program, the more participants we will create.

A name for these seminars might be on your mind at the moment. With the collaboration

of our proposed program name and the event itself, these informative sessions could be entitled

NKY’s Happenin’ Seminar Series. The title of the program itself will be explained in a couple


sections, but we believe that a great way to promote both the small seminars and the program is

to intertwine them both to create the title previously stated. So the concept is now proposed.

Partnership

Currently visitors and tourists use the help of NKYCVB as well as Google Maps and

other internet sources to get around the Northern Kentucky area. But what if there was a “one-

stop” service that could help visitors find local restaurants, attractions, events and give insight to

these topics and help assist tourists in making decisions of what places to attend while in the

area? As of 2009, there is a company, known as Text and the City, which does just that for the

Northern Kentucky area. To create more value to the bureau and help highlight the area with

programs available now, it is now proposed that the NKYCVB create a partnership with Text

and the City and help maximize tourist knowledge of the area through this mobile application.

Background and Information

Text and the City is a service that provides visitors, and locals if needed, a place to turn to

in order to find out what’s going on in the Northern Kentucky area along with great places to

dine and shop. In addition, this service is free to anyone and everyone who visits the site or

obtains the mobile application. This resource is the “Yellow Pages” of Northern Kentucky. Text

and the City’s model is to build community through mobile and they currently are doing so.

When entering the site, a state, region, and community is asked to be selected. Right now the

focus is on the Northern Kentucky area. Within each region, there are approximately 15-20

communities. Once your location is set, your home screen will appear and the use is able to

begin their search. Anything from restaurants and events, to baby stores and shopping areas can

be searched and selected through Text and the City. If you need to find a pizza place in the


Newport area, all you have to do is go onto Text and the City, choose the area interested in, the

category (Restaurants), the sub category (Pizza), and you will have a selection of local pizza

places such as Jet Pizza as well as the more popular places such as Papa John’s. Once a

restaurant, in this instance, is selected, an informational screen will appear featuring a description

of the establishment, hours of operations, a coupon if available, their menu, a price point, and

social media information. Due to how new the company is to the market, the site is under

construction and currently being designed by NKU students and is scheduled to launch by

January of 2013. There are so many options that Text and the City offers to visitors and will

offer to the bureau. They are just focused on promoting the area in a unique way that is different

from other similar services.


Another unique feature that Text and the City provides is a option to ‘opt in’, using a

phone number, and receive alerts via text message about upcoming events, weather alerts, and

other important information that visitors or users would need to know being in the Northern

Kentucky area. Ideally, a visitor would opt in when arriving to the area, receive information, and

then opt out when the visit is over. The process to opt in and out is very simple and easy and no

‘heckling’ is involved between Text and the City and the user. With events, these automatic text

messages will be sent out approximately 24 hours before the event begins or takes place. In

addition to events, weather alerts are sent out as well. These are severe weather alerts that inform


subscribers of the necessary precautions to take. In addition to the weather alerts, a text can also

be sent out in the case of immediate danger. When tested in Cleveland, a shooting took place and

within second Text and the City sent out a text stating what was going on and to not be alarmed

but to dismiss if in the same area. These text messages are sent between business hours, with the

exception of immediate notifications based on weather or emergencies. This feature is such a

great asset to any user because of the unlimited information that can be provided through this

subscription option. Although over texting can lose the user, but informative information can

help with users who aren’t aware of where they are and what to attend. Text and the City can

mold this option to what the bureau suggests as well. Eventually, when opting in, the user will

not only enter their phone number, but also select their target age so more events and information

that is geared toward their age is sent to them.

When it comes to advertising, Text and the City is still in the process of getting all the

details in line. Currently, there is no advertising but in the future there is hope of some.

Advertising will be a bit different in the sense that advertisements on each page will pertain to

items on the page selected. For example, if the user chooses to go into restaurants and search

pizza parlors, there will be advertisements for Dewey’s or Domino’s or maybe even Jet Pizza on

the same page. In the same sense, under the burger subcategory to restaurants, an advertisement

for Five Guys or Mad Mike’s might appear. All the advertisements are to only relate to the

current search the user is seeking out.

Text and the City would emphasize not only NKYCVB but also Northern Kentucky if a

partnership is formed. This program could bounce off of the ambassador program being created

as a fall back for visitors when a local or student of the program isn’t present.


Benefits to NKYCVB

When creating partnerships, the first question that is brought up is how will I, the

business, benefit? Well there are a few benefits to NKYCVB partnering with Text and the City.

The first is that the service is free. Text and the City is both free to users as well as with the

bureau. For that reason, Shawn Blaine, is more than happy to get insight on the NKYCVB’s

impression of the application. After speaking with Blaine, she stated that she would allow

NKYCVB to advertise on the application for no charge and would place advertisements to both

the events page as well as the government page. This is ultimately free advertising for partnering

up with Text and the City. The second benefit to this partnership is the expansion of area

awareness. When it comes to Millennials, target group aged 29 and younger, we are hesitant to

confront strangers about obtaining information. This application will be able to help with

information that the Millennials are hesitate to ask for in an easy service. This is a great benefit

due to the large market that will not gain information about the Northern Kentucky area because

of not wanting to confront local strangers. A third and final benefit is the fact that Shawn stated

to me that she and Text and the City might have a few suggestions that could help generate

revenue for the NKYCVB through the ambassador program. No details were discussed, but

being knowledgeable about your industry, she was very excited about your program and wants to

help the bureau create revenue if possible, without charging participants and businesses. Text

and the City have already shown interest and desire into helping work with NKYCVB and their

ambassador program currently being created. Text and the City believe that their service will

help promote this program as well as help the bureau with struggles along the way. This

partnership is almost intertwined perfectly with one another to benefit both parties in different

ways to help each partner shine just as much as the other.


Competition

When it comes to competition, Lexington currently has an application available called

‘Big Lex’. The functions are similar in that this application helps direct tourist and visitors

getting around the city and find things to do. The Big Lex home page seems to lack categories

when compared to Text and the City. When going into the restaurant category, for example, is

where Big Lex begins to lack more. When choosing restaurants, there is a list of all restaurants

in the Lexington area, listed in alphabetical order. When a visitor is in a city, do they look for a

restaurant by name or by category of food the restaurant is considered? The answer is the latter,

in a sense that names of businesses are insignificant when it comes to visitors not aware of the

city and what is offered. Another example for the application layout is when going into the

‘Horses’ section. Once choosing this section, you are listed with yet again another long list of

30+ places, in alphabetical order. There is no way of knowing additional information or how to

choose which establishment to visit.


One last observation while exploring the Big Lex application was that there was no place

to select what region of Lexington you are currently in. There is, however, a function that uses

the current location of the device with the application running and brings up ‘bubbles’ to show

what is around the area you are currently in. The bad part is if you opt out of using your current

location, then you have no way of knowing what is around you and Lexington is a large area and

their CVB expands 15 counties. Current location is the only way of helping visitors find was is

nearest them, depending on what part of the ‘Bluegrass Region’ they are in.

So, although NKYCVB might be hesitate with this partnership due to Lexington already

having this application established, there is so much more potential with Text and the City due to

the layout being more attractive to the visitor rather than say the current citizen, which seems to

benefit from the Big Lex application.

Another city that has created a similar application is the Greater Cincinnati CVB.

Although this may not be considered competition, a comparison should be analyzed in order to

see how their application compares to what Text and the City can offer to the NKYCVB. The

Cincinnati CVB has created an application entitled Downtown Cincinnati. This application is


categorized in a more modern way: Eat, Shop, Stay and Play. Unfortunately, the layout is similar

to Big Lex in the sense that when choosing each category, the results come up in alphabetical

order rather than by food category, for restaurants, as an example. We only see this is a place

where both Lexington and Cincinnati are lacking. A unique feature that Downtown Cincinnati

offers in addition to showing attractions around your current location, the map will also show

you what places are closed depending on the time. Below is an example, where the red “x’s” are

marked as the locations that are currently closed at the time of this search (6:24pm) along with

the app features:


From looking into Lexington and Cincinnati’s current applications, you can see that there

is room to improve and the partnership with Text and the City is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Text and the City have a more personalized layout that focuses on the visitor and want they are

looking for and wanting to visit. If there are things that should be added to the Text and the City

application based on the wants and needs that the NKYCVB would like in an application, Shawn

is open to any suggestions that would improve the service.

If a partnership between Text and the City and the NKYCVB is created, the main

measurement to best use to evaluate the success of this decision is by controlling traffic of the

application/website. By tracking user traffic, NKYCVB can see how many visitors are people in

the area are using the service. To see a 10%-15% increase in weekly users in a 3 month period

would signify that the partnership is benefiting the bureau and should continue. As months

progress, the percentage should be raised due to awareness and the success of the service to

users.


Text and the City is a partnership that can help differentiate NKYCVB from other cities

as well as align with the ambassador program and educate visitors in a mobile sense. Shawn

Blain, CEO of Text in the City, is very anxious and excited for this great opportunity to be able

to help the bureau and attract visitors to the Northern Kentucky area. Shawn is fully ready to

meet with the NKYCVB to discuss Text and the City in addition to ways that Text and the City

can help create revenue for the NKYCVB. Shawn asked that a meeting be scheduled to discuss

opportunities in more detail as soon as the NKYCVB is available. Her contact information is

listed to below as well as she having the NKYCVB contact information. This partnership is a

great immediate start to the creation of the ambassador program. From the benefits, to the

accessibility, to the convenience of having the development already completed, the partnership

really just highlights both parties involved. This is an opportunity that is highly suggested to

investigate and invest time into this prospect.

Program Name/Questions

NKY’s Happenin’

One of NKYCVB’s goals is to create an attention-grabbing name for this program. We

have come up with a name that we believe is creative and catchy. We also wanted to come up


with a name that wasn’t like any of our competitors’ programs. To us, one question comes to

mind with tourism. “What is happening?” What is happening in the area that is being visited? It

can involve restaurants, things to do, where to go, etc. We would like to introduce the name

“NKY’s Happenin’” to the NKYCVB for this program’s name. We also feel that it has a double

meaning. We believe that it also signifies that the Northern Kentucky area is the happening

place to be! The Northern Kentucky area has so many amenities to offer visitors and it continues

to grow as an excellent location to visit.

Additionally, NKYCVB was hoping to create questions for three different levels of

testing. We have come up with a variety of questions that will hopefully open the door to more

fun and exciting questionnaires. Also, we are proposing that each level of testing has different

questions. We suggest for the first level of testing the questions are multiple choice, the second

level should consist of multiple choice and open ended questions, and lastly, the third level

should strictly only be open ended. We feel that as the testing progresses the level of difficulty

should as well. Here are some questions that we hope the NKYCVB will be able to utilize:

1. Where would you direct a visitor to shop at smaller boutiques?

2. What two shopping centers allow visitors to enjoy the outside in between stores?

3. Which clothing store is located closest to the airport?

4. Where can a visitor enjoy dinner and an evening of jazz music?

5. Which local area provides a visitor with live music and a spectacular view of the Ohio

River, Cincinnati, and the NKY cities along the river?

6. Which live music spot is known for their variety of macaroni and cheese?

7. Which Italian restaurant was in the film Rain Man?


8. This well-known burger spot was featured on The Food Network.

9. Which restaurant can a visitor enjoy an excellent German meal, a microbrewery, and

accordions?

10. What pizza place has been serving the local communities for over 60 years?

With these questions, in addition to the others that will be added, NKY’s Happenin’ will be

on their way to providing a successful program that attracts to employers, employees, and other

local citizens that would like the chance to partake in a test that will inform them as well as ‘test’

their own knowledge about the Northern Kentucky area. These participants will then begin to see

that NKY is where it’s “happenin’ ”.

Proposed Implementation Schedule

A table of NKYCVB’s return on investment with the new strategies in place is listed

below.


Our analysis of the rate of investment for this education project was developed from the

recent economic impact study of the tourism industry for the Cincinnati USA Regional

Economy. We felt that the statistics including the number of visitors and revenue gave us a good

base to help generate the future profit from this program. In order to budget proportionately for

the next three years we calculated how much tax revenue is generated per visitor. This rate of

revenue is ultimately how we calculated the yearly budgeted revenue for NKYCVB.

We have estimated from the proposed seminar, NKYCVB will be able to attract roughly

80 businesses from all categories of tourism, including hotels, restaurants, attractions, and public


offices. Additionally, expect a least 500 individuals from these businesses will participate in the

program testing. We also expect for the following two years the same participates will have an

effect on the visitors along with a 50% increase from the prior year’s amount. For example the

first year we hope for 500 participates and the second year we budget to have 750. Of those

participates, we believe they will have a direct effect on at least 3% of the entire area’s visitors.

Finally, of those visitors we estimate at least 10% of those visitors will be more likely to return

to the area.

At this point, those visitors that are likely return will essentially be generating additional

revenue. To establish the total additional revenue we have taken that number and multiplied it

by the earlier mentioned rate of revenue. Since that revenue has been derived from the

Longwoods International study, the revenue covers the entire tri-state area as a whole, not

necessarily focusing on just the southern side of Cincinnati. However, as a benchmark we

referred to statistics listed on the NKYCVB website that focused on the 2008 Marketing Impact.

In 2008, the three-county visitor impact was $306 million and of that total $147 was spent on

lodging. We took that percentage of almost 50% that came from lodging and applied it to this

ROI calculation. Of the total revenue generated we calculated only 50% of that was derived

from hotel revenue. The NKYCVB generates their revenue from the transient room tax

(lodging) at a rate of 1% of rent. With that rate available we took 1% of the total hotel revenue

to come up with a possible budgeted revenue amount for NKYCVB.

Finally we listed the strategy costs related to the incentive purchases and seminar

planning. The total of these costs gradually becomes less and less because we feel as NKYCVB

continues to reach out to all local businesses on a yearly basis, they will eventually contact all of

the local businesses and the seminar guest count will gradually decrease. However, in order to


recognize the rate of return on this program we took the difference between the revenue we

calculated from the 1% lodging tax and the marketing costs.

The rate of investment for the education project has a very positive outlook because of

the minimal costs the NKYCVB will incur. We the combination of all of strategies we have kept

the costs relatively low compared to the additional revenue this appropriate education will bring

to the participant and the visitor.

Proposed Means of Evaluation of Strategies

Timeline

In order for this program to become a great success for the NKYCVB as well as the local

businesses, we suggest following an 18 month timeline. Initially, we suggest that NKYCVB

begin at once by contacting Text and the City to see what kind of partnership details they can

offer the Bureau. We have reached out to them and they are very eager to meet with NKYCVB

and help get started on generating some revenue for the bureau. We also think it would be best

for the NKYCVB to begin the updating of their social media outlets. First, change the name on

the Facebook page so it is easier to locate and access. This needs to be completed immediately to

avoid any more delays in creating awareness of the bureau and what it has to offer to visitors and

local businesses. Same goes for Twitter and LinkedIn. These outlets are heavily accessed and

NKYCVB needs to take advantage of what the social media world can bring to them. Along

with Text and the City as well as the social media aspect, we are proposing that NKYCVB get in

contact with NKU to pursue the implementation of intern possibilities. These interns can play a

key role in helping market this program.


Additionally, we are proposing that in the next 3-7 months NKYCVB focuses on

completing the education program as a whole. It is important for NKYCVB to complete every

level of testing and have an established list of business contacts. During this time frame,

NKYCVB will have the chance to work out any technical issues related to the test questions.

Also, within the same amount of time NKYCVB should also begin ordering the incentives,

including the lapel pins and window decals. Another element that should be completed and

ready to be utilized is the coupon template. This template should be ready to insert the

discounts/coupons given by the businesses that are participating.

Lastly, NKYCVB’s long term goal should be the execution of the marketing seminar for

the education program. We hope that the seminar will be thoroughly planned and dates for the

event are scheduled no later than 12 months from now. We propose this event that far out within

our timeline because we realize that it will take some time to make sure all aspects of the event

have been planned accordingly. Additionally, the seminar is very crucial to NKYCVB’s

marketing plan because it is essentially the official launch of the education program.

With this timeline in place, we feel that then necessary steps will be taken in order to

launch this program on time and with success. A timeline is a great way to stay on target with a

project and we feel that this one is realistic. It is a great tool to use and we believe that NKYCVB

would greatly benefit from this outline.

Ensuring Achievements Through Controls

To help ensure that the strategies (above) are achieved, there are a few controls that can

be used to make sure that objectives are being met.


NKYCVB should hold monthly strategy meetings, with the Commission, to determine if

its delivery with NKY’s Happenin’ is on track and that all items are being worked on in order of

importance. Any issue that may arise should be documented and once an evaluation is

completed, then a solution can be made. Between the staff working on this project and the

Commission, kinks can be worked out and the program to be the best when being launched as

well as in the future.

Another item to use is the balance scorecard. Keeping this document handy will help the

NKYCVB stay focused on all the tasks at hand as well as reminding the target and goal of each

strategy proposed in the analysis plan. If due dates seem to change due to other projects or

additional strategies being added, then a timeline needs to be recreated and known to all bureau

employees to keep the project on track for a launch by January of 2014.

It will be essential, especially early after launch of NKY’s Happenin’, that NKYCVB

reviews all of its operations to ensure everything is fully functional and beneficial to meeting

both the participants and bureau needs and requests. To check the program capabilities, the

company should first perform a beta test of all three tiers of the program, multiple times to

ensure consistency. Once the NKY’s Happenin’ program is launched, the NKYCVB should

survey participants and everyone impacted by the program to determine what changes need to be

made as they are found and bring these issues to each month’s strategy meeting with the

Commission.


Additional Notes

The NKYCVB has a great competitive advantage with the program and should have no

problem getting it launched by 2014. If any additional help is needed, our team is here to help in

any way that we are able to. Our contact information is as follows:

Amanda Batta

[email protected]

Tiffany Hopkins

[email protected]

Kelly Parker

[email protected]

Nicole Stadtlander

[email protected]

We have had the pleasure of working with the bureau and we look forward to seeing

where NKY’s Happenin’.


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nkycvb strategic analysis

Education